Conferencing system and method for controlling the conferencing system

ABSTRACT

A communication system and a method can be configured to facilitate the performance of a conference. The system can include a conference organizer terminal and at least two participants&#39; terminals each assigned to respective conference participants who each log in to start a conference on the communication system. The communication system can be configured to calculate a decision situation at a particular point in time of the ongoing conference by analyzing the views expressed by the conference participants during the conference and send data relating to the decision situation for that point in time to the conference organizer&#39;s terminal and/or other conference participant terminals for use in facilitating the conference. IN some embodiments, such data can be used to assist the conference participants&#39; in recognizing when there is a consensus made on at least one decision to be made during the conference.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to German Patent Application No. 102014 018 205.3, which was filed on Dec. 9, 2014. The entirety of thisapplication is incorporated by reference herein.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention concerns a method for controlling a conferencing system,a non-transitory computer program product, a non-transitorymachine-readable data carrier with a computer program product stored onit, and a conferencing system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

As business has become more globalized, the use of conferencing systems,required for telephone and video conferences, has become more and morecommon. Conference participants are often widely distributedgeographically. In addition to “pure” video or audio conferenceexecution, mixed forms of this application are also possible, in which,for example, participants use only the audio channel to participate in avideo conference, as might occur when one or more conferenceparticipants are traveling and wish to participate in the conference,but have only limited data transmission capability available to them.Compared to a conference at which all participants are present, it ismore difficult to handle participation and action in a virtualconference. This means that these types of conferences often last longerthan desired, while occupying the system resources associated with them,in particular the use of corresponding conferencing systems and therelated energy and telecommunication costs. To improve the participantexperience in such teleconferences (hereinafter simply calledconferences), speaker identification can be used, for example, to showwhich participant is currently speaking. The participants can bearranged in a virtual conference room, for example, so that theorientation of the person currently speaking is made easier in audioconferences.

There are multiple known techniques for facilitating the execution oftelephone or video conferences. EP 1 271 341 A2 discloses a system foranalyzing text data in order to display, in particular, informationconcealed in text data, so that certain merchandise items can be offeredto customers in a more targeted manner, for example.

In addition, WO 2013/086301 A1describes a teleconference access systemin which participants are brought together into the same teleconference,supported by a computer. The system includes a unit that can use remarksfrom participants, entered in text form, to filter out a consensus thatmay have been reached.

US 2012/0323575 A1 describes a system with which the content of what aspeaker is saying can be visually represented and with which, ifapplicable, the mood or emotions of the speaker's content can also begrasped and represented.

FR 2949894A1 discloses a system with which a speaker's courtesy, in atelevision discussion, for example, can be grasped and represented.

The goal of a conference is often to resolve one or more differencesregarding certain issues. When such a conference is conducted, often themost widely differing camps form into coalitions of those participantsin favor, those against, or those remaining neutral, which can stillchange during the course of the conference. There can also be aunanimous consensus at the end. It can also occur that some participantsdo not get any or a properly timed opportunity to speak, making theconference inefficient, which generally results in an unnecessarily longconference.

None of the aforementioned documents can help a conference organizer ormoderator solve all the problems described.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention can be configured to address the issue ofproposing a conferencing system and a method for controlling theconferencing system, whereby the user experience in teleconferences isimproved and, in particular, the organizer and/or moderator may be aidedin reaching a consensus or forming a majority of the participants, whichalso results in efficient use of the resources required by theconferencing system.

This objective can be achieved with a computer-implemented method, acomputer program stored in a non-transitory computer readable medium, anon-transitory computer program product, a non-transitorymachine-readable data carrier with a computer program stored on it, anda conferencing system.

One embodiment of a method according to the invention for controlling aconferencing system involves the following steps: a conferenceorganizer's terminal (which is assigned to an organizer and/or moderatorwho represents a first conference participant) logs in (e.g., by meansof address collection) on the conferencing system in order to initiate aconference. Next, other (at least two) participant terminals, each ofwhich is assigned to a corresponding additional conference participant,log in on the conferencing system. The respective terminals forward theappropriate voice and/or image data for their assigned participants tothe conferencing system and display the corresponding voice and/or imagedata for the other conference participants, so that they can follow theconference. Embodiments of the invented method can be intended to makeit possible for a decision to be made regarding the main issue of theconference, based on the views expressed by the conference participants,and for the organizer to then end the conference using his conferenceorganizer's terminal. Embodiments of the method can be configured sothat the conferencing system assesses a particular decision situation,based on an analysis of the conference participants' views expressed inthe form of audio and/or video signals, and transmits that particulardecision situation to the conference organizer's terminal—and optionallyalso to other terminals.

In this way, embodiments of the invented method can allow the conferenceorganizer to have information about the particular or current decisionsituation at all times, allowing him or her to end the conferencesuccessfully at the earliest possible time. As part of this process,social and non-technical information and situations can be transformedby technical means into a verifiable user experience for the organizer,which otherwise would happen only in his imagination. This userexperience usually exceeds the humanly possible grasp of the decisionsituation. In some embodiments use of the resources required to run theconference can thus be kept to a minimum. Embodiments of the inventedmethod can also be used advantageously to plan future conferences.

According to one advantageous embodiment of the invented method, theconferencing system can record the views expressed by the conferenceparticipants and transforms them by means of transcription intoanalyzable data, such as written text, for example. Then theconferencing system can derive the current decision situation from theseanalyzable data.

In order to allow for the fact that views expressed in the course ofsuch a conference can also be stated sarcastically or jokingly andtherefore may mean the opposite of what was actually said, theconferencing system can acquire the mood of each conference participantwhen their views are expressed, in order to determine the true contentof the respective views expressed and apply their influence toevaluating the current decision situation.

According to one advantageous embodiment of the invented method, theconferencing system can calculate a cumulative weighted position valuefor each individual conference participant, which represents the currentdecision position of that particular conference participant, and incalculating the cumulative weighted position value can give lowerpriority or less weight to older, i.e., further back in time, expressedviews than to newer (i.e., more recent) expressed views. In this way,the decision situation being assessed by the invented method stayscurrent with changes in the opinions of one or more conferenceparticipants, as expressed in their statements (e.g. audible statementsthat have been transcribed or other statements).

In one exceptionally advantageous embodiment of the invented method, thecurrent coalition formation of participants with consensus isgraphically displayed, with optional indication of changes in thepositions of individual participants. As an additional option, previouscoalition formations can be stored and called up as history. In additionto this graphic overview display, the current period and cumulativeperiods can also be shown alternatingly in statistical form, as barcharts, for example. In this way, the position of each individualparticipant can be compared to each of the other participants andsingled out if desired.

The following formula can be used for this:

$s_{nm} = {\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{c}\; {a_{nmj}*b_{nmj}}}$

with s_(nm) the sum of evaluated dialogs between person n and person mwithin the period concerned. Dialogs between person n and person m areevaluated in the period concerned (a_(nm)). Each indication ofagreement, neutrality, or dissent is assessed during the evaluation as:

$a = \left\{ \begin{matrix}{{+ 1}\mspace{14mu} {for}\mspace{14mu} {agreeing}\mspace{14mu} {statement}} \\{{- 1}\mspace{14mu} {for}\mspace{14mu} {dissenting}\mspace{14mu} {statement}} \\{0\mspace{14mu} {for}\mspace{14mu} {undetermined}}\end{matrix} \right.$

Statements that are sarcastic in nature are appropriately assessed asthe opposite viewpoint (b_(nm)) as:

$b = \left\{ \begin{matrix}{{- 1}\mspace{14mu} {for}\mspace{14mu} {sarcastic}\mspace{14mu} {statement}} \\{{+ 1}\mspace{14mu} {for}\mspace{14mu} {neutral}\mspace{14mu} {statement}}\end{matrix} \right.$

c represents the number of dialogs between person n and person m in theperiod concerned.

When determining the cumulative weighted position value, currentevaluations can be weighted more heavily than older ones, e.g., usingthe formula with i ongoing or ended periods and k=max. number ofiterated periods. The older the periods for evaluated dialogs betweenperson n and person m, the higher the weighting factor in thedenominator of the summand, and correspondingly the lower thecontribution of the sum.

$v_{nm} = {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{k}\; \frac{s_{nm}\lbrack i\rbrack}{k - \left( {i + 1} \right)}}$

It can often be particularly useful to the organizer and/or possiblemoderator of the conference to have the current decision situationdisplayed on his(their) terminal(s), and it is additionally helpful whenthere is a separate display for each individual conference participant,so that their position or change in position can be acquired and trackedover time. Of course, the display can also be generated on otherterminals.

A conferencing system that can include a conference organizer's terminalassigned to a first conference participant, at least two participantterminals, each assigned to another individual conference participant,and a control unit for registering the various terminals. A control unitof the system can be configured such that the previously describedmethod is implemented by a computer.

According to one particularly advantageous embodiment of the inventedconferencing system, it has at least one of the following items:

-   -   a media recording unit for recording the audio and/or video        signals generated during the course of the conference,    -   a participant recognition unit for identifying participants        based on the audio and video signals provided by the media        recording unit,    -   a transcription unit for transcribing the audio and/or video        signals provided by the media recording unit,    -   a dialog acquisition unit for acquiring dialogs between        conference participants and individual statements made by        conference participants by processing the transcribed audio        and/or video signals,    -   a text analysis unit for analyzing the transcribed audio and/or        video signals with respect to agreeing, dissenting, and neutral        views expressed,    -   a mood detection unit for analyzing the transcribed audio and/or        video signals in order to determine the conference participants'        moods,    -   a display unit for generating a visual representation of the        current decision situation on the conference organizer's        terminal, and    -   an iteration unit for generating additional iterations when        determining the current decision situation.

Embodiments of the invention can also be configured as a non-transitorycomputer program or computer program product or a non-transitorymachine-readable data carrier on which a computer program is stored.

Address collection, image identification, and/or voice recognition canbe used in embodiments of the invention to acquire the presence ofparticipants as an initial situation of the conference. Statements orviews expressed by the participating people can be technically acquiredand evaluated using the previously described metrics and semantics.Dialogs can be chronologically acquired during the conference and madeavailable as text by means of transcription, with translation ifapplicable. The resulting text can undergo an analysis in which agreeingand dissenting statements are recognized with respect to the precedingspeaker or by someone being personally addressed, such as a name statedby a third person. Mood analysis—also called sentiment detection—can beused to differentiate between serious and sarcastic or jokingstatements. After some time of discursive discussion, there is usually adecision situation (which can also be called a coalition) that can beidentified by a longer pause in the discussion and recognized via thelast agreeing or dissenting verbal statements by the participants.

According to one embodiment of the invented method, first the identitiesof all participants are determined and the ongoing conference durationis measured. Spoken contributions by individual participants, as well asother interpretable articulations of these participants (such asmuttering or sighing) are counted and compared to those of the otherparticipants. By means of text analysis and sentiment detection, thesemeasurements are qualified as either agreeing or dissenting. The systemcan be configured so that longer breaks in the discussion amongparticipants initiate or trigger a new assessment of the decisionsituation. Alternatively, this can be caused by interaction between theorganizer and/or moderator of the conference and its various terminals.The organizer and/or moderator can also reset the assessment of thedecision situation if a new item on the agenda is started, for example.According to another embodiment of the invented method, the conferencingsystem indicates the terminals involved, by recognizing keywords thatsignal the conclusion of the previous or a transition to the next agendasegment.

Embodiments of the invented method preferably includes an accompanyingdisplay of the present or current decision situation on at least theorganizer's terminal (which can be stationary (e.g. desktop personalcomputer) or mobile (e.g. smartphone, tablet, laptop computer, etc.)),and also on other participants' terminals if applicable. The selecteddisplay can either be very simple, such as only the corresponding text,for example, or can extend to photos or avatars and to video images, andthis display can generate an arrangement of participants within a grouprepresentation corresponding to their coalition position, using therecognized decision or coalition situation, and display itcorrespondingly. Participants who remain neutral are shown as separategroups or individuals, for example. They can be addressed specificallyby the organizer and asked to express their views, for example.Embodiments of the invented method can be configured to assess thecurrent decision situation and the availability of a consensus formationusing the determined current decision situation. Use of this assessmentand identifying the availability of a consensus that may be presentduring a conference that may be performed by a communication system andcommunicated via the system to at least a moderator or organizer of theconference can result in a more efficient conference as the moderator ororganizer may be able to utilize such information to bring theconference to a close by use of the knowledge of the developed consensusidentified by the conference system.

Larger shifts in coalition formations can also be documented inchronological order and can be called up individually by the conferenceorganizer (or also another participant if desired). In addition, thehistory of a conference or of a situation at a particular point in timecan be added to the transcripts or media record in the conferencingsystem and played back at the appropriate time. It is also possible togenerate a related statistical report for each participant'sparticipation and provide a metric for the efficiency of the discussion,which can be especially helpful to the conference organizer ormoderator.

Other details, objects, and advantages of the invention will becomeapparent as the following description of certain exemplary embodimentsthereof and certain exemplary methods of practicing the same proceeds.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Additional advantages, features, and characteristics of the presentinvention are presented in the following description of advantageousembodiments with reference to the drawing. It should be appreciated thatlike reference numbers used in the drawings may identify likecomponents. The figures show schematically:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a communicationsystem configured as a conferencing system;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an exemplary embodiment of a consensusrecognition unit according to the invention that may be utilized in anembodiment of the communication system;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart diagram illustrating an exemplary embodiment of amethod for controlling a conference;

FIG. 4 a schematic diagram of an exemplary statistical report forconsensus recognition at a conference that may be output (e.g. displayedor printed) by a display device of a terminal or by a terminal of thecommunication system, and

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an exemplary display illustrating a consensusrecognition during a conference.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS

Referring to FIG. 1, one embodiment of a communication system can beconfigured as a conferencing system 10. The conferencing system 10 caninclude a consensus recognition unit 30 containing a control unit 32 asthe central instance, plus a (conference) organizer's terminal 20 andmultiple participant terminals 22-26 connected to a media recording unit12, which records media data coming from the terminals 20 and 22-26, inparticular audio and video data, and sends those data to the consensusrecognition unit 30.

Referring to FIG. 2, which provides a detailed schematic view of theconsensus recognition unit 30 together with the media recording unit 12of the conferencing system. The data from the individual conferenceparticipants (including, of course, the organizer with the organizer'sterminal 20 assigned to him) recorded by the media recording unit 12 canbe transmitted to a participant recognition unit 34 that identifies thecorresponding participants from the transmitted audio and video signals.The identification can be made based on a number of different features,such as voice recognition, identification indicia included in the dataon which the audio and/or video signals are included, or other data. Theaudio and video signals are then sent to a transcription unit 36, whichtranscribes at least the audio signals into text data. The results ofthis transcription are stored in a data store 31 (e.g. a database or adata bank) so that they can be called up immediately when needed. Thetranscription unit 36 can be connected to a control unit 32 (e.g. acentral control unit) that controls the entire consensus recognitionunit 30 as well as the complete conferencing system 10 as needed. Itshould be appreciated that the control unit 32 may be configured as ahardware element such as a processor or other type of hardwareprocessing device.

Multiple units can be connected to the transcription unit 36 and use thetranscribed audio and/or video signals such as, for example: (i) adialog capturing unit 38 that acquires the dialogs between conferenceparticipants, as well as individual statements from conferenceparticipants and their number and length by analyzing the transcribedaudio and video signals, (ii) a text analysis unit 40 (also called akeyword spotter) that searches through the texts for agreeing,dissenting, and neutral expressed views, even if they are part ofcomplex statements, and (iii) a sentiment detection unit 42 thatsearches through the transcribed audio and video signals to see whetherany agreeing or dissenting views expressed therein may have been statedsarcastically or jokingly and are supposed to mean exactly the opposite,for example, or should be considered as indicating only limitedagreement or dissent. In some embodiments, the transcription unit 36,the dialog capturing unit 38, the text analysis unit 40 and/or thesentiment detection unit 42 may be separate hardware elements in someembodiments of the communication system. In other embodiments, theseunits may be software modules that are called up or part of a programthat is stored on non-transitory computer readable medium and areutilized when that program is executed by a processor.

The control unit 32 can compute a current decision situation for a pointin time using the transcribed audio and video signals. The computeddecision situation may be computed in such a way that it can illustratethe decision position for each conference participant concerning theissue being decided. A display unit 46 can be connected to this controlunit 32 and can generate a visual representation of the decisionsituation at that point in time to have that visual shown on theorganizer's terminal 20 based on the computation made by the controlunit 32. An iteration unit 48 can also be connected to the control unit32 and can initiate or request for additional iterations while assessingthe current or present decision situation.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart that illustrates a method of running aconference. The conference can be started in a step S10 when theorganizer logs in on his organizer's terminal 20 and at least two otherparticipants log in on their terminals 22, 23, 24, 25, 26 . . . In astep S12, the iteration unit 48 begins a first round of assessing theconsensus. The callout “Form.” in step S12 means that, for a newconference or a change of topic, a new form is opened for recording themeasured metadata, metrics, and statistics. In a step S14, the media(audio and/or video signals) coming from the terminals 20, 22-26 arerecorded, after which they are submitted in a step S16 forparticipant/speaker recognition. In a subsequent step S18, the lengthsof any dialogs are determined. Next, in a step S22, transcription isenriched with metadata regarding speakers, lengths, agreeing/dissentingand, if applicable, sarcastic statements related to a previous speakeror a named participant. In a step S30, the transcribed audio and videosignals undergo text analysis to filter out agreeing, dissenting, andneutral expressed views. In a subsequent step S32, the system checks tosee if the participants have already moved to the next topic. If this isnot the case, in step S34 it is decided that sentiment detection will berun in step S36, in order to differentiate between serious expressedviews and statements made sarcastically or jokingly and weight themaccordingly. Next, in a step S40, a weighted position value iscalculated that represents the decision situation at that point in time,and it is sent to the conference organizer and/or moderator. If theorganizer wishes to end the conference (which is queried in a step S41)because he considers the topic to be ready for a decision based on theinformation sent to him regarding the weighted position value or currentdecision situation, he makes or announces this decision and ends theconference in a step S42. If the organizer wishes to continue theconference, he can initiate the next iteration in a step S50 and updatethe display on his terminal 20 in a step S52. The method then proceedsas described in step S12.

If it is determined in step S34 that the conference has already moved onto the next topic, the method goes to step S12 and initiates a newiteration in order to discuss the new topic. Obviously, media recording(step S14) can continue for as long as necessary in either case.

At the beginning of the audio/video conference, first the participantsare recognized, and usually no coalitions or decision situations arerecognizable yet. Typically, after the introductory formalities and astatement of positions, a first discussion begins. Recording thearriving audio and video signals (media) with simultaneous orimmediately following transcription allows for analysis of the textsresulting from the transcription for the expression of supporting views(e.g. “I agree [with the person who spoke before me], . . . ,”“Exactly,” . . . ) or dissenting views (e.g. “I can't understand that,”“I see that differently,” “Can you explain that again . . . ”) oridiomatic expressions in the text analysis unit 40 (also called akeyword spotter). Here it is also advantageous to use the sentimentdetection unit 42 in order to be able to realistically assess theseriousness or relevance of the changes occurring.

If the position does not relate to the preceding speaker but instead toanother person in the conference, then usually that person is addressedby name (e.g. “I rather agree with what Dick said . . . ”), and thatallows these positions to be added to the assessment of the present orcurrent decision situation. After a while, if a significant number ofparticipants have expressed their views, a first coalition or consensusrepresentation can be displayed based on their positions, as shown inFIG. 5, for example.

After a pause in the discussion and additional statements, the displaycan be updated if necessary. In FIG. 5, the moderator John is known tothe conference or moderating organization, as is the organizer Dick (whois typically the person that requested and organized the conference).The display unit 46 receives this information from the conferencingsystem 10 at the beginning. Obviously, the moderator and organizer canalso be one and the same person. According to the example shown in FIG.5, only Mary and Dick hold to one position, while John, Evelyn, andThomas hold the opposing opinion. Mike's position is unclear, as he hasnot yet participated. This situation is shown on the left side of FIG.5. During the discussion, Mary switches to John's unchanged position,while Thomas and Evelyn are convinced to side with Dick. Mike's positionon this issue remains unclear. This situation is shown on the right sideof FIG. 5.

People whose opinion or position has changed are indicated by a doublearrow. The invented system can ignore Mike's display, for example, or asanother option it can display his undecided position specifically onlyto the moderator and/or organizer. This would allow John, as moderator,to ask Mike for his opinion, in order to get an appropriate expressionof his views.

Embodiments of the invented method, in conjunction with embodiments ofthe invented system, can therefore contribute to efficient discussionsor teleconferences, for example, if it quickly indicates a consensus ormajority among the participants regarding the organizer's subject ofinterest. The moderator can use it to establish the final result and canthen end the conference much earlier when there is no longer anyinconsistency in the overall viewpoint. This allows the invention tosave on the resources required to conduct a teleconference.

The dialog acquisition unit 38 can record the number of statements and,if applicable, also each participant's speaking time, changes inposition, participation share, etc. These statistics can be displayedcontinuously and/or at the end, and it is possible for this display tobe made available only to the moderator and/or organizer if desired. Astatistical report for the last period of dialogs is shown as an examplein FIG. 4. Bar charts are displayed for each participant with respect tothe other participants, wherein positive numbers represent predominantlyagreeing positions and negative numbers represent predominantlydissenting positions. In the overview, it is easy to see that, withinthe latest dialog, there is consensus between the organizer Dick and themoderator John and also with the participants Evelyn and Thomas, whilethe participants Harry and Mary hold opinions opposite to those of theother participants. The participant Mike has not joined in to thisdialog.

According to one advantageous embodiment of the invention, the method isconfigured such that positions are consolidated or converge during thecourse of the conference. For this purpose, more recent statements areweighted successively more heavily than older statements for theweighted position value. This makes it possible to use these metrics forassessing discussion efficiency.

It can be seen that the present invention has a variety of method andequipment features that are interconnected with each other. From this itis clear that the method steps or features correspond to the variousdevices or units in the conferencing system and also, inversely, eventhe most widely differing equipment features correspond to variousmethod steps or method features, even when this is not specificallydescribed.

It should be noted that the features of embodiments of the inventiondescribed herein by referencing the presented embodiments, for examplethe type and configuration of individual method steps and analysismethods, such as individual analysis parameters and units in particular,can also be present in other embodiments, unless stated otherwise orprohibited for technical reasons. Not all features of individualembodiments described in combination must necessarily always beimplemented in any one particular embodiment. Therefore, while certainexemplary embodiments of a communication system and communicationapparatus and methods of making and using the same have been discussedand illustrated herein, it is to be distinctly understood that theinvention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodiedand practiced within the scope of the following claims.

LIST OF REFERENCE INDICATORS

-   10=Conferencing system-   12=Media recording unit-   20=Conference organizer's terminal-   22-26=Participants' terminals-   30=Consensus recognition unit-   31=Data bank-   32=Control unit-   34=Participant recognition unit-   36=Transcription unit-   38=Dialog acquisition unit-   40=Text analysis unit-   42=Sentiment detection unit-   46=Display unit-   48=Iteration unit-   90=Data carrier-   92=Computer program product-   S10-S52=Method steps

1-20. (canceled)
 21. A communication apparatus comprising: a controlunit comprising a processor that is configured to communicate with firstand second terminals via communication connections formed with the firstand second terminals, the control unit being configured to execute amethod comprising: calculating, by the control unit, a decisionsituation at a particular point in time by analyzing views previouslyexpressed by conference participants via the second terminals during anongoing conference, and calculating, by the control unit, a cumulativeweighted position value ν_(nm) that represents a decision position ofeach conference participant n at the particular point in time, thecalculating of the cumulative weighted position value being performedsuch that a view expressed more recently during the ongoing conferenceare weighed more heavily than views expressed prior that time; andwherein the control unit is configured to send data identifying thecalculated decision situation for the point in time to at least one ofthe first terminal and the second terminal.
 22. The communicationapparatus of claim 21 wherein the cumulative weighted position valueν_(nm) for each conference participant n with respect to anotherconference participant m is calculated using the following formula:$v_{nm} = {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{k}\; \frac{s_{nm}\lbrack i\rbrack}{k - \left( {i + 1} \right)}}$where $s_{nm} = {\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{c}\; {a_{nmj}*b_{nmj}}}$ with:nm representing dialog between person n and person m i is a time periodk is a maximum number of iterated periods j is a number of ongoingdialogs within a period c is a number of ongoing dialogs between personn and person m in the period concerned s_(nm) is a sum of evaluateddialogs between person n and person m in the period concerned a_(nmf)=isa number representing agreeing or dissenting statements made by person nand person m in dialog j, and b_(nmf) is a number representing sarcasticstatements made by person n and person m in dialog j.
 23. Thecommunication apparatus of claim 22 comprising: the first terminalcommunicatively connected to the control unit.
 24. The communicationapparatus of claim 23 comprising: the second terminal communicativelyconnected to the control unit.
 25. The communication apparatus of claim24, wherein the communication apparatus is configured as a communicationsystem; the first terminal is one of a desktop computer, a mobilecomputer, a smartphone, a tablet, and a laptop computer; and the secondterminal is one of a desktop computer, a mobile computer, a smartphone,a tablet, and a laptop computer.
 26. The communication apparatus ofclaim 21 wherein variable (a_(nm)) is configured such that an agreeingstatement is accorded a +1 value, a dissenting statement is accorded a−1 value, and an undetermined statement is accorded a 0 value.
 27. Thecommunication apparatus of claim 21 wherein the variable (b_(nm)) isconfigured such that a −1 value is accorded to a determined sarcasticstatement and a +1 value is accorded to a neutral statement.
 28. Thecommunication apparatus of claim 27 wherein variable (a_(nm)) isconfigured such that an agreeing statement is accorded a +1 value, adissenting statement is accorded a −1 value, and an undeterminedstatement is accorded a 0 value.
 29. The communication apparatus ofclaim 21 wherein the control unit is also configured to effectgeneration of a representation of the calculated decision situation foreach conference participant at a particular point in time.
 30. Thecommunication apparatus of claim 21 wherein the control unit is acomponent of a communication device, wherein the communication device isconfigured to record views that are audibly expressed by conferenceparticipants during the conference and convert the audibly expressedviews into analyzable data via transcription so that the analyzable datais analyzable by the control unit, wherein the control unit isconfigured to derive the decision situation for that point in time basedon the analyzable data.
 31. The communication apparatus of claim 30wherein the communication device is also configured to determine a moodof each conference participant during the conference by the based onviews expressed by the conference participant during the conference. 32.The communication apparatus of claim 21 wherein the communicationapparatus is configured as a conferencing system.
 33. A non-transitorycomputer readable medium having a program stored thereon, the programdefining a method that is performed by a communication device of acommunication system that executes the computer program via a processorof the communication device, the method comprising: calculating, by thecommunication device, a decision situation at a particular point in timeby analyzing views previously expressed by conference participants of anongoing conference via second terminals during the conference, andcalculating, by the communication device, a cumulative weighted positionvalue ν_(nm) that represents a decision position of each conferenceparticipant n at the particular point in time, the calculating of thecumulative weighted position value being performed such that a viewexpressed more recently during the ongoing conference are weighed moreheavily than views expressed prior to that time; and the communicationdevice sending data identifying the calculated decision situation forthe point in time to a first terminal and/or at least one of the secondterminals.
 34. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 33wherein the cumulative weighted position value ν_(nm) for eachconference participant n with respect to another conference participantm is calculated using the following formula:$v_{nm} = {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{k}\; \frac{s_{nm}\lbrack i\rbrack}{k - \left( {i + 1} \right)}}$where $s_{nm} = {\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{c}\; {a_{nmj}*b_{nmj}}}$ with:nm representing dialog between person n and person m i is a time periodk is a maximum number of iterated periods j is a number of ongoingdialogs within a period c is a number of ongoing dialogs between personn and person m in the period concerned s_(nm) is a sum of evaluateddialogs between person n and person m in the period concerned a_(nmf)=isa number representing agreeing or dissenting statements made by person nand person m in dialog j, and b_(nmf) is a number representing sarcasticstatements made by person n and person m in dialog j.
 35. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 34 wherein variable(a_(nm)) is configured such that an agreeing statement is accorded a +1value, a dissenting statement is accorded a −1 value, and anundetermined statement is accorded a 0 value.
 36. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 34 wherein the variable (b_(nm)) isconfigured such that a −1 value is accorded to a determined sarcasticstatement and a +1 value is accorded to a neutral statement.
 37. Thenon-transitory computer readable medium of claim 36 wherein variable(a_(nm)) is configured such that an agreeing statement is accorded a +1value, a dissenting statement is accorded a −1 value, and anundetermined statement is accorded a 0 value.
 38. A method forcontrolling a conferencing system comprising at least one processor,comprising: calculating, by the conferencing system, a decisionsituation at a particular point in time by analyzing views previouslyexpressed by conference participants via terminals during an ongoingconference; and calculating, by the conferencing system, a cumulativeweighted position value ν_(nm) that represents a decision position ofeach conference participant n at the particular point in time, thecalculating of the cumulative weighted position value being performedsuch that a view expressed more recently during the ongoing conferenceare weighed more heavily than views expressed prior that time; and theconferencing system sending data identifying the calculated decisionsituation for the point in time to at least one of the terminals. 39.The method of claim 38 wherein the cumulative weighted position valuefor each conference participant n with respect to another conferenceparticipant m is calculated using the following formula:$v_{nm} = {\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{k}\; \frac{s_{nm}\lbrack i\rbrack}{k - \left( {i + 1} \right)}}$where $s_{nm} = {\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{c}\; {a_{nmj}*b_{nmj}}}$ with:nm representing dialog between person n and person m i is a time periodk is a maximum number of iterated periods j is a number of ongoingdialogs within a period c is a number of ongoing dialogs between personn and person m in the period concerned s_(nm) is a sum of evaluateddialogs between person n and person m in the period concerned a_(nmf)=isa number representing agreeing or dissenting statements made by person nand person m in dialog j, and b_(nmf) is a number representing sarcasticstatements made by person n and person m in dialog j.
 40. The method ofclaim 39 wherein: each of the terminals is one of a desktop computer, amobile computer, a mobile computer device, a smartphone, a tablet, and alaptop computer; and the variable (a_(nm)) is configured such that anagreeing statement is accorded a +1 value, a dissenting statement isaccorded a −1 value, and an undetermined statement is accorded a 0value. the variable (b_(nm)) is configured such that a −1 value isaccorded to a determined sarcastic statement and a +1 value is accordedto a neutral statement.